One day at Burgerville in Gresham, an adult and a little boy stood at three cans labeled “landfill,” “recycle,” and “compost.”

The adult hesitated, unsure where the meal waste belonged. The little boy didn’t, grabbing the paper his burger was served on and leftover food scraps and tossing them in the compost bin.

That scene reinforced for Kevin Schmid, general manager of Gresham’s Burgerville, that composting is the way of the future — and the city of Gresham is now on that trajectory.

In February Gresham became the second jurisdiction in Multnomah County — behind Portland — to launch a commercial composting service in an effort to divert food waste from landfills. Already it has 36 businesses signed on, from giants like Fred Meyer to small businesses like The Local Cow.

“It’s just the right thing to do,” Schmid said. “And this is an easy way to do it.”

Ultimately the city wants to expand the program to between 60 and 80 businesses, enough to divert 2,000 tons of waste per year, said Dan Blue, manager of the city’s recycling and waste program. The city’s businesses generate more than 20,000 tons of garbage each year, and roughly a third of that is compostable.

In the nine months since it started from scratch, the city has diverted about 520 tons of food waste from the landfill, Blue said.

“Food waste is a key generator of methane and greenhouse gas in the landfill, and it can be easily converted to a beneficial soil amendment,” Blue said, adding, “It’s the right thing to do.”

Compost realized

Landfills are the third-largest source of methane in the United States, producing 16 percent of all methane emissions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and food waste is a primary methane producer in landfills. Pound-for-pound, methane as a greenhouse gas is over 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide, the agency reports.

With that in mind, the city of Gresham set its sights on composting food waste from the largest food generators — grocery stores and eateries.

A pilot program in 2007, spanning six months and 10 businesses, showed the region didn’t have adequate infrastructure to make a composting program cost-effective for businesses, said Tristan Whitehead, coordinator for the city’s program.

This year, established infrastructure along with grant money from Metro regional government made composting not only feasible, but also cheaper for businesses.

All five of the city’s garbage haulers take compost to Metro Compost Center, which transports it to a facility that turns it into fertilizer.

The cost to businesses is 20 percent less than hauling garbage. Additionally, businesses receive free inside compost containers, signs and training from the city.

Compost in practice

Burgerville has diverted 8,050 pounds of food waste in about six months, and has saved 10 percent on its hauling fees, said Schmid, who helped push the city to start the program.

As a company, Burgerville has switched to fully compostable materials, from the to-go containers to plastics.

“I saw all this investment in compostable products by the company, and seeing it all thrown away (at the Gresham restaurant) just didn’t make sense,” Schmid said.

Now the restaurant has the three bins — recycle, landfill and compost — in its dining area and behind the front counter. Employees were all trained on where waste goes, and they help patrons figure it out.

Abby’s Pizza in Gresham just signed on per Burgerville’s recommendation, Whitehead said, adding that businesses have encountered few complications in converting to compost. Occasionally a garbage space in an older building doesn’t fit quite right or there’s some other physical barrier, but coordinators have been able to work around them, he said.

At The Local Cow, an eight-month-old restaurant in downtown Gresham, co-owner Dylan Hutter held up a small, squat trash can late one afternoon.

“This is all the garbage we’ve had today after 50 guests,” he said. There were less than 10 pieces of garbage.

Hutter was an early champion of composting, city officials said, and has recruited other businesses, citing the program’s ease and practicality.

“What’s one Dumpster compared to the next?” he said. “You either throw it here in the garbage or there,” walking to an adjacent container, “in the compost.”

Before The Local Cow composted, the restaurant sent upward of 10 garbage bags a day to the Dumpster, Hutter said. Since he started the program four months ago, they’ll throw part of one bag in the garbage, and the rest in the compost. The garbage haulers have suggested restaurant get rid of one of its garbage containers.

That fits with The Local Cow’s business plan, which emphasizes local sourcing and sustainable practices.

“I grew up in Oregon,” Hutter said. “It’s just a part of who I am. (Sustainability) isn’t just a trend, it’s a part of life here.”